– A blog by Rupa Shende – Empowerment Coach

6 things you can do to boost productivity at work

How often do we feel that we are making a wonderful living but can’t live wonderfully? These are fast and crazy times indeed. While we have the best material comforts we have little time to sit back and enjoy the same. Regular 9am to 5 pm working hours seems to be a distant memory. Working hours have increased but has our productivity? Do we sit for long hours because we get more done or are we spending more time at work as our productivity has gone down? Increased productivity can result in better work life balance, reduced wastage of resources and better profits. Improved productivity benefits both employer and employee.

I would like to share six things you can do to boost productivity at work:

Be the employee you want others to be:

We often have gossiped about how our fellow colleagues waste time, money and effort – If only he/she could : gossip less, talk less on phone, go home once his/her work is done instead of hanging around, have lesser tea breaks, not misuse office resources, be positive, pay attention to details etc. All of us know how others should behave to become more efficient. Here is a fun activity: Just list down what you think others should do to enhance productivity. From next day simply follow that – You will observe that your own productivity shoots up. You will also observe that in couple of months people will start recognizing that and start doing the same. This will boost overall productivity of the department or firm.

Limit Distractions:

Digital age comes with many distractions. Circulate your desk number to those who really matter and try to have “cell free” hours in the day. This way if there is an emergency, you can still be contacted but you need not be distracted by every face book post, linked in update, tweet, what’s app message, personal email that you receive. In fact dedicate half an hour (even two slots of 30 mins if you need) a day for social media rather than checking throughout the day. You will get the best of both!

Abide by your natural work clock:

Most of us these days are blessed with flexible working hours. However we do not use the same to our advantage. Flexible working hours allow us to abide by our natural working clock. If you are a morning person – try to get most things done early in the day, if afternoon works for you – focus on the most important things then, if you prefer working late in night – do it then. Plan the day wisely so that you can extract maximum while being at ease. Ensure that your natural clock time is focused on the work that requires higher level of concentration.

Zero in your priorities:

This is key – you will make efforts to ensure that you don’t waste time but even more important is to ensure that time is spent on work of top priority. Always, always zero in your priorities for the day. If unsure ask someone who will be able to guide you. Make your boss responsible – chase him/her to sort priorities if there are many tasks on your plate. The worst thing that can happen is when you have worked on something with full vigor, while your boss wanted something else to be completed first. Zeroing in your priorities will ensure that your efforts are in the direction that matter!

Eat healthy:

Snacking healthy will help you maintain energy levels throughout the day. Avoid excessive caffeine. Eating spicy and heavy food leads to lethargy and natural drop in attentiveness subsequently damaging productivity. It’s no secret that healthy eating habits go a long way in ensuring higher productivity.

Recess rejuvenates:

Taking regular “productive” breaks can help you boost your energy levels. A mood uplifting recess can enhance your productivity. A fresh mind can be innovative. You will be able to think outside the box. Going for short walks, quick fun chat with your friend, meditating, going to the gym, listening to your favorite song – all such recess activities help you recharge throughout the day. Just remember that recess by definition is “small” break between two productive sessions 🙂

At the end of the day all of us can give others brilliant suggestions for improving productivity at work. What about us? What should we do to boost our own productivity? I would suggest wearing the BLAZER to work 🙂

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Published by rupashende

I am an Empowerment coach and empower people to get into action to be the person they always wanted to be. I help transforming self-limiting belief patterns into useful tools of transformation taking into account the uniqueness of every client and most importantly ensure a follow through. I use a combination of transactional and transformational coaching to bring about lasting changes. Do connect with me to see how coaching can empower your life...
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